Value Creation Blog

One thing I’ve noticed that all successful business owners have is a passion around their business. When the passion leaves it’s often also time for you to leave your business to someone else.

Recognize that passion is not forever and if it leaves, that’s OK. Things change in your life. If part of that change means you’ve lost a passion for your business then it might be time for you to put an exit plan in motion.

Running a business is hard enough. Without passion it becomes hard and sometimes unbearably hard to continue on. When things go well in a business it’s easy. In business things don’t go well all the time. It’s when things don’t go well life becomes hard and without passion you just might not have the energy to do what’s necessary.

Learn to recognize when your passion for the business has left. If you’re feeling bored, are tired, or not interested in the daily problems of your business then the passion for your business may have left. These are some of the early warning signs that it’s time to think about your business relationship.

There are people who stay passionately involved in their business right till the end. There are also times when passion mysteriously and quickly leaves the owner. It’s at this point where problems may occur.

Be aware and guard against a quick fix when passion leaves. You might want to quickly dump your business when your passion for the business ends. Moving quickly to get out of pain, and it will feel like pain when you no longer have passion for your business, is a mistake.

Going from being engaged to not even wanting to be inside your business happens. If this happens we often feel like we’re burned out. If you’re feeling burned out, first ask yourself what’s causing the feeling of burnout. If you’re able, fix this first, then deal with the larger problem of passion for your business leaving.

Having a plan in place for what you’re going to do would be useful, especially if you haven’t made yourself a passive owner along the way. With a plan in place you wouldn’t have to think about what to do next. You will have a roadmap for what your steps should be.

This roadmap will look like a disaster plan. Brain research shows that when you’re under serious stress your mental capacity diminishes, sometimes by as much as 30 to 40%. Losing passion will put you under stress. Anything you can do to plan for this stress ahead of time will help you keep from making major mistakes.

Have you done anything to make sure you have a business transfer disaster plan in place? If not, it just might be something you want to think about.

Josh Patrick

We have a Stage 3 Exit Planning Report you might be interested in getting. This complementary report will help you evaluate areas of your business and figure out if you’re ready and your business is ready for you to leave.

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